Libertarianhttp://www.businessinsider.com/category/libertarian
en-usMon, 19 Mar 2018 22:59:51 -0400Mon, 19 Mar 2018 22:59:51 -0400The latest news on Libertarian from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/french-polynesia-ends-agreement-with-peter-thiel-seasteading-institute-2018-3An island nation that told a libertarian 'seasteading' group it could build a floating city has pulled out of the dealhttp://www.businessinsider.com/french-polynesia-ends-agreement-with-peter-thiel-seasteading-institute-2018-3
Wed, 14 Mar 2018 14:45:00 -0400Melia Robinson
<p><span><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5aa2bfb37dafe124008b458d-2400/171127-31.jpg" alt="thiel floating city" data-mce-source="Blue Frontiers" /></span></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>The Seasteading Institute set out on a mission to build a floating, libertarian utopia in the middle of the ocean.</strong></li>
<li><strong>French Polynesia, an island nation that once agreed to let the institute develop the "seastead" off the coast of Tahiti, has now backed out of the deal.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Locals in Tahiti feared that seasteading would bring tech colonialism to their shores. The project has long been criticized for its costs and elitism.</strong></li>
</ul>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span>A South Pacific island nation is cutting ties with tech billionaires and libertarians.</span></p>
<p><span>In 2017, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-seasteading-institute-2016-9">government officials in French Polynesia signed an agreement</a> with the <a href="https://www.seasteading.org/">Seasteading Institute</a>, a group founded by investor and entrepreneur Peter Thiel, that would give the libertarian group access to build a floating and politically autonomous city, called a seastead, off the coast.</span></p>
<p><span>Now the country's ruling political party says the agreement has expired.</span></p>
<p><span>The ruling Tapura Huiraatira party&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/tapura-huiraatira-officiel/pour-en-finir-avec-la-pol%C3%A9mique-sur-les-%C3%AEles-flottantes/2065764623658746/">said in a Facebook post</a> that the memorandum of understanding, a non-binding document that&nbsp;sealed the government's intent to work with the group</span><span>, had a "deadline of validity" at the end of 2017. The agreement became void in January 2018.</span></p>
<p><span>"It's not a contract. This document does not bind the Country [sic] in any way. It has no legal value," the Facebook note said.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5aa16290c227981d008b45ac-1267/screen shot 2018-03-08 at 81833 am.png" alt="french polynesian government seasteading institute facebook post" data-mce-source="Facebook/tapura-huiraatira-officiel" data-link="https://www.facebook.com/notes/tapura-huiraatira-officiel/pour-en-finir-avec-la-pol%C3%A9mique-sur-les-%C3%AEles-flottantes/2065764623658746/" /></span></p>
<p><span>In 2008, Thiel, a longtime tech industry fixture and a Trump transition team member, set out on a mission to develop a floating city that would run independently from existing nations. Thiel invested $1.7 million in The Seasteading Institute, but resigned from its board in 2011.</span></p>
<p><span>Thiel later <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-seastead-dream-floating-city-2017-1">said in an interview</a> that engineering seasteads is "not quite feasible."</span></p>
<p>After the group's founding in 2008, <a href="https://www.wired.com/2015/05/silicon-valley-letting-go-techie-island-fantasies/">some tech entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley</a> chastised the idea, saying that the island paradises would be too wild, expensive, and elitist to generate real results.</p>
<p>But the seasteading concept began eventually gathering support from libertarians and people living outside the Silicon Valley bubble. A 2013 <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/designing-the-world-s-first-floating-city#/">crowdfunding campaign</a> raised over $27,000.</p>
<p><span>For years, the Seasteading Institute wanted to set up camp in international waters. Eventually, the group determined the costs of building hundreds of miles from a shoreline, away from an existing nation, were too extravagant. So the institute decided to team up with a host country.</span></p>
<p><span>French Polynesia fit the bill.</span></p>
<p>The island chain is located an eight-hour flight from Los Angeles. It has a fiber cable that runs underwater to Hawaii, providing the bandwidth that tech workers require.</p>
<p>Rising sea levels threaten French Polynesia's existence, which made a proposal to build new land appealing to the government.</p>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5aa2c6f76c640520008b4585-2400/150530-09-300dpi.jpg" alt="thiel floating city" data-mce-source="Blue Frontiers" /></p>
<p>In 2016, the Seasteading Institute sent a delegation to meet with French Polynesian officials. They drafted an informal agreement between the government and the Seasteading Institute.</p>
<p>But as the Seasteading Institute plotted its vision, locals from Tahiti &mdash; the largest island in French Polynesia &mdash;&nbsp;grew increasingly concerned about the prospect of "<a href="http://dismagazine.com/dystopia/evolved-lifestyles/67148/what-is-seasteading/">tech colonialism</a>."</p>
<p>A <a href="http://dis.art/the-seasteaders">documentary</a> film crew followed the Seasteading Institute leadership at a conference in Tahiti last year. They found that locals weren't given much of a voice at these events. In the film, Alexandre Taliercio, a local radio and TV personality, describes the seastead project as a cross between "visionary genius" and "megalomania."</p>
<p>In a 2017 interview with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/02/seasteading-peter-thiel-french-polynesia">The Guardian</a>, Taliercio argued that rich Americans just want to skip out on paying taxes. "These millionaires have much more to gain than we do," he said.</p>
<p>The Seasteading Institute has not publicly addressed the sunken plans. Its website features a video about the French Polynesian "floating island" splashed across the front page.</p>
<p><span>Business Insider contacted the Seasteading Institute and did not immediately receive comment.</span></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-tech-elite-is-leaving-san-francisco-2018-3" >The tech elite are abandoning Silicon Valley in droves because of 'groupthink' and out-of-control living costs— here's where they're headed</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/french-polynesia-ends-agreement-with-peter-thiel-seasteading-institute-2018-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-advocate-peter-thiel-discusses-endorsement-presidential-election-2016-10">Peter Thiel on why he supports Trump: Insider politicians are just 'rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic'</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/libertarian-peter-thiel-utopia-seasteading-institute-2018-3A Silicon Valley billionaire's dream of a floating libertarian utopia may have finally been killedhttp://www.businessinsider.com/libertarian-peter-thiel-utopia-seasteading-institute-2018-3
Thu, 08 Mar 2018 14:55:00 -0500Melia Robinson
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5aa0175b5cc410ac058b45b1-1920/b21c.jpg" alt="thiel floating city" data-mce-source="Blue Frontiers" /></p><p></p>
<p>Peter Thiel's dream of a libertarian utopia in the middle of the ocean may have finally sunk.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/351420/french-polynesia-sinks-floating-island-project">Radio New Zealand</a> is reporting that the French Polynesian government has not renewed its agreement to help the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/seasteading-institute">Seasteading Institute</a>, a group created in Silicon Valley, build a permanent and politically autonomous settlement off the coast of the South Pacific islands.</p>
<p><span style="background-color: #ffffff;">In 2008, Thiel, a billionaire investor and Trump transition team member,&nbsp;launched a mission to develop a&nbsp;floating city, called a seastead, that would operate independently from existing nations. Thiel&nbsp;invested $1.7 million in The Seasteading Institute, but resigned from its board in 2011. He later <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-seastead-dream-floating-city-2017-1">said in an interview</a> that engineering seasteads is "not quite feasible."</span></p>
<p><span>Here's what we know about the Seasteading Institute's plans for a floating city in the South Pacific &mdash; and why the deal went under.</span><span></span></p>
<p><em><a href="https://schedule.sxsw.com/2018/events/PP99591">Leanna Garfield</a> contributed reporting to this article.</em></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-people-are-leaving-san-francisco-2018-3" >All the crazy things happening in San Francisco because of its out-of-control housing prices</a></strong></p>
<h3>In a 2009 essay, Thiel wrote, "Between cyberspace and outer space lies the possibility of settling the oceans."</h3>
<img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5aa0172e5cc4101c008b45e0-400-300/in-a-2009-essay-thiel-wrote-between-cyberspace-and-outer-space-lies-the-possibility-of-settling-the-oceans.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><em>Source: <a href="https://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/education-libertarian">Cato Unbound</a></em></p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>He imagined "an escape from politics in all its forms" in a new libertarian society.</h3>
<img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5aa0184d5cc4103a008b45c5-400-300/he-imagined-an-escape-from-politics-in-all-its-forms-in-a-new-libertarian-society.jpg" alt="" />
<br/><br/><h3>The PayPal cofounder partnered with Patri Friedman, a Google software engineer who reportedly came up with the idea of seasteads at Burning Man, to launch the institute.</h3>
<img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/57f3dd929bd9789b018b4889-400-300/the-paypal-cofounder-partnered-with-patri-friedman-a-google-software-engineer-who-reportedly-came-up-with-the-idea-of-seasteads-at-burning-man-to-launch-the-institute.jpg" alt="" />
<br/><br/><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/libertarian-peter-thiel-utopia-seasteading-institute-2018-3#/#after-the-groups-founding-in-2008-some-people-in-silicon-valley-chastised-the-idea-saying-the-island-paradises-would-be-too-wild-expensive-and-elitist-to-generate-real-results-4">See the rest of the story at Business Insider</a> http://www.businessinsider.com/liberland-relations-donald-trump-europe-2016-12A European country that may not be real is angling for good relations with Donald Trumphttp://www.businessinsider.com/liberland-relations-donald-trump-europe-2016-12
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 09:24:57 -0500Christopher Woody
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5846bcdeba6eb6771b8b77a2-2400" alt="Liberland eastern Europe" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Antonio Bronic" data-mce-caption="The self-proclaimed president of the &amp;quotFree Republic of Liberland,&amp;quot Vit Jedlicka, center, poses with the Liberland flag and future citizenships in the village of Backi Monostor, Serbia, May 1, 2015. Jedlicka, a Czech citizen, has proclaimed a new sovereign state lying on the border between Croatia and Serbia. According to the founders, the plot of land they chose remained unclaimed by Croatia, Serbia, or any other country when the border was drawn, and the nearest settlements are Zmajevac in Croatia and Backi Monostor in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Its size of around 7 square kilometers would make &amp;quotLiberland&amp;quot the third-smallest sovereign state in Europe, after Vatican City and Monaco." /></p><p></p>
<p>"There are many ties and shared ideas between Liberland and President Trump," the self-proclaimed president of Liberland, Vit Jedlicka, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/12/06/liberland-a-country-that-may-not-exist-says-it-hopes-to-build-close-ties-to-trump-white-house/?postshare=1611481027645626&amp;tid=ss_tw&amp;utm_term=.1a583ece2b84" target="_blank">told</a> The Washington Post this weekend.</p>
<p>Jedlicka declared sovereignty over a 3-square-mile spit of land on the Danube River in April 2015, taking advantage of a decades-long dispute between Croatia and Serbia over their border.</p>
<p>Jedlicka, a Czech citizen <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/meet-the-eccentric-president-of-liberland-the-worlds-newest-micronation-2015-4" target="_blank">with libertarian leanings</a> and a Euroskeptic, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/12/06/liberland-a-country-that-may-not-exist-says-it-hopes-to-build-close-ties-to-trump-white-house/?postshare=1611481027645626&amp;tid=ss_tw&amp;utm_term=.1a583ece2b84" target="_blank">found out</a> about the territory while reading about "terra nullius" &mdash; "nobody's land" in Latin &mdash; on Wikipedia.</p>
<p>While Jedlicka is optimistic about relations between his country and the Trump administration, the nascent relationship faces a peculiar and significant hurdle: Neither the US nor any other country recognizes Liberland's existence.</p>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5846bb23ba6eb6771b8b77a1-2400/ap103396378835.jpg" alt="Liberland eastern Europe" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic" data-mce-caption="Liberland disputed territory seen from across the Danube river, near Backi Monostor, Serbia, May 1, 2015. The inauguration of world's new mini-state in the war-torn Balkans may sound as an elaborate joke by international organizers, but Croats and Serbs aren't laughing. The so-called Free Republic of Liberland, a 7-square-kilometer swampy patch of isolated land on the banks of the Danube river border between Serbia and Croatia &mdash; which fought a war in the 1990s &mdash; has been blocked by police in both states." /></p>
<p>Jedlicka has links with anti-establishment political movements elsewhere in Europe, and he recently <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/12/06/liberland-a-country-that-may-not-exist-says-it-hopes-to-build-close-ties-to-trump-white-house/?postshare=1611481027645626&amp;tid=ss_tw&amp;utm_term=.1a583ece2b84" target="_blank">appointed</a> Thomas Walls, a US citizen, as Liberland's foreign minister.</p>
<p>Jedlicka <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/meet-the-eccentric-president-of-liberland-the-worlds-newest-micronation-2015-4" target="_blank">told Business Insider</a> in April 2015 that he was against most forms of government assistance and that taxes in his country would be voluntary.</p>
<p>"We don&rsquo;t really care that much, because the government will have very little expenditure," <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/meet-the-eccentric-president-of-liberland-the-worlds-newest-micronation-2015-4" target="_blank">he said at the time</a>. "We will have so much money that we will not know how to spend it."</p>
<p>Jedlicka also <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/12/06/liberland-a-country-that-may-not-exist-says-it-hopes-to-build-close-ties-to-trump-white-house/?postshare=1611481027645626&amp;tid=ss_tw&amp;utm_term=.1a583ece2b84" target="_blank">told The Post</a>&nbsp;plans to attend Trump's inauguration in January were in the works, but he wouldn't say precisely who his connection to the US president-elect was.</p>
<p>"We can say we have a strong supporter of Liberland who is a close adviser to one of Trump's already announced cabinet picks and somewhat famous in his own right," Walls <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/12/06/liberland-a-country-that-may-not-exist-says-it-hopes-to-build-close-ties-to-trump-white-house/?postshare=1611481027645626&amp;tid=ss_tw&amp;utm_term=.1a583ece2b84" target="_blank">told The Post</a>. "Another member of the Liberland team has just published one of Trump's books in Europe."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mexican-governor-calling-for-boycott-of-texas-trump-carrier-2016-12" >A maverick Mexican governor is calling for a Texas boycott in response to Trump's Carrier deal</a></strong></p>
<h3>According to the founders of Liberland, the plot of land they chose remained unclaimed by Croatia, Serbia, or any other country when the border was drawn, and the nearest settlements are Zmajevac in Croatia and Backi Monostor in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia.</h3>
<img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5846b977e02ba75c658b6901-400-300/according-to-the-founders-of-liberland-the-plot-of-land-they-chose-remained-unclaimed-by-croatia-serbia-or-any-other-country-when-the-border-was-drawn-and-the-nearest-settlements-are-zmajevac-in-croatia-and-backi-monostor-in-the-autonomous-province-of-vojvodina-serbia.jpg" alt="" />
<br/><br/><h3>Croatia has dismissed it as a joke, and Serbia has detained Jedlicka and others while trying to enter the territory. According to The Post, only people with a "communist, Nazi or extremist past" are barred from citizenship, and hundreds of thousands — including about 12,000 Americans — have signed up.</h3>
<img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5846bcdeba6eb6771b8b77a2-400-300/croatia-has-dismissed-it-as-a-joke-and-serbia-has-detained-jedlicka-and-others-while-trying-to-enter-the-territory-according-to-the-post-only-people-with-a-communist-nazi-or-extremist-past-are-barred-from-citizenship-and-hundreds-of-thousands--including-about-12000-americans--have-signed-up.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><em>Source: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/12/06/liberland-a-country-that-may-not-exist-says-it-hopes-to-build-close-ties-to-trump-white-house/?postshare=1611481027645626&amp;tid=ss_tw&amp;utm_term=.1a583ece2b84" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a></em></p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>Jedlicka ran for office several times in the Czech Republic. He won a minor regional seat but grew frustrated when he realized he would be unable to make any meaningful changes.</h3>
<img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5846bbfbe02ba75f658b6964-400-300/jedlicka-ran-for-office-several-times-in-the-czech-republic-he-won-a-minor-regional-seat-but-grew-frustrated-when-he-realized-he-would-be-unable-to-make-any-meaningful-changes.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><em>Source: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/meet-the-eccentric-president-of-liberland-the-worlds-newest-micronation-2015-4" target="_blank">Business Insider</a></em></p></p>
<br/><br/><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/liberland-relations-donald-trump-europe-2016-12#/#jedlicka-said-he-was-motivated-to-start-liberland-after-people-asked-why-he-didnt-start-his-own-country-modeled-after-hong-kong-4">See the rest of the story at Business Insider</a> http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-weld-donald-trump-politics-debate-inherited-wealth-2016-9Libertarian VP nominee schools Donald Trump on how to talk about your inherited wealth with humorhttp://www.businessinsider.com/bill-weld-donald-trump-politics-debate-inherited-wealth-2016-9
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<div>Hillary Clinton responded to Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson's stunning lack of knowledge about Aleppo, Syria on <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/gary-johnson-asks-what-is-aleppo-760358979962" target="_blank">MSNBC's "Morning Joe"</a>.</div>
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Tue, 23 Aug 2016 15:45:00 -0400Jacqui Frank
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<p><span><strong>Follow BI Video: </strong><a href="https://twitter.com/BI_Video" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://twitter.com/BI_Video&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1472045149874000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGQaCx4d2rbzlNh_OZppiWPxoNizQ">On Twitter</a><span> </span></span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/economists-hillary-clinton-gary-johnson-donald-trump-election-2016-8#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/bremmer-third-party-interest-americans-upset-libertarian-independent-green-2016-7 IAN BREMMER: The level of interest in third parties shows that Americans are really upsethttp://www.businessinsider.com/bremmer-third-party-interest-americans-upset-libertarian-independent-green-2016-7
Fri, 22 Jul 2016 12:01:05 -0400Michael Torres
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<p>Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer explains the role <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/google-search-term-spiked-republican-national-convention-2016-7" target="_blank">third-party candidates</a> play in this presidential election.</p>
<p><strong>Follow BI Video: </strong><a href="https://twitter.com/BI_Video" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://twitter.com/BI_Video&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1469200750831000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEYMUFpdu08KjXK317vRldWXPzETQ">On Twitter</a></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bremmer-third-party-interest-americans-upset-libertarian-independent-green-2016-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/the-libertarian-party-is-burning-up-the-polls-2016-7The Libertarian Party is burning up the polls — here's what that means for Novemberhttp://www.businessinsider.com/the-libertarian-party-is-burning-up-the-polls-2016-7
Fri, 01 Jul 2016 19:50:00 -0400Rob Garver
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5757303e9105842b008c75d2-2400/rtx2eqiu.jpg" alt="gary johnson" data-mce-source="Reuters/Kevin Kolczynski" data-mce-caption="Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson gives acceptance speech during National Convention held at the Rosen Centre in Orlando, Florida, May 29, 2016."></p><p>It’s sadly fitting that in a year when the likely presidential nominees for the two major parties are both as widely disliked as Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, the presence of a plausible challenger from a third party has no effect on the race because supporters leave the two major party candidates in roughly equal numbers.</p>
<p>Whether that is how it will play out in November, of course, remains to be seen.</p>
<p>Right now, though, according to the RealClearPolitics polling averages, the Libertarian Party ticket is performing better than it ever has in presidential public opinion polls while drawing supporters from Clinton and Trump at roughly the same rate.</p>
<p>The Libertarians have former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson at the top of the ticket and former Massachusetts governor William Weld as the party’s vice presidential candidate, and Johnson is polling at about 8 percent nationally -- remarkably high for a Libertarian by historical standards.</p>
<p>Relatively little-known to average voters, the Libertarian Party is generally in favor of personal freedom and individual choice, achieved primarily by limiting the size and authority of the government. This puts it at odds with both parties in different policy areas. Libertarians will fight the Democrats on issues like government regulation and spending, but will challenge Republicans just as strongly on government intrusion into the people’s private sexual lives, on abortion rights and aggressive use of the military.</p>
<p>Though the Libertarians have had a ticket on the presidential ballot every year since 1972, their high water mark -- really not that high at 1.06 percent of the vote -- came 36 years ago in 1980.</p>
<p>What’s particularly interesting about the candidacy of Johnson and Weld, both two-term Republican governors in majority Democratic states, is where they appear to be finding their support. The RCP polling average tracks major national polls on a rolling basis, and when voters have been asked to choose a candidate for president in a two-way race between Clinton and Trump, Clinton has been consistently ahead. The RCP average as of Thursday night had Clinton with 44.6 percent of the potential vote and Trump with 39.8 percent.</p>
<p>However, when Johnson is added to the mix, Clinton falls to 41.4 percent and Trump to 36.5, with Johnson claiming 8 percent. That suggests that Johnson is pulling 3.2 percent of the vote from Clinton and 3.3 percent from Trump, a statistically insignificant difference.</p>
<p>Johnson and Weld, to be sure, are trying very hard to appeal to voters from both sides of the traditional aisle, as they do in this advertisement released today.</p>
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<p>It seems safe to say that, their public professions to the contrary, neither Johnson nor Weld seriously expects to be in the White House next January. So the effect they are having on the race is a bit ironic. While they’ve tried to cast Clinton and Trump as two sides of the same establishment coin, even adopting the term “ClinTrump” to refer to them, it’s pretty plain that their hearts aren’t in it.</p>
<p>Asked about Clinton during <a href="http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2016/06/22/transcript-cnn-libertarian-town-hall-moderated-by-chris-cuomo/">a CNN town hall on June 22,</a> Johnson called her “a wonderful public servant.”</p>
<p>When his turn came, Weld referred back to the time when they were both staff members on the commission investigating the Watergate scandal. “Old friend,” he said. “Nice kid. Knew her in her 20s. We shared an office in the Nixon impeachment, real bond, lifelong. Seriously. Not kidding.”</p>
<p>They couldn’t manage anything close to the same for Trump. Asked to describe him in one word, Johnson waffled, “I’m sure there’s something good to say about Donald somewhere. I’m sure.”</p>
<p>When he was asked to come up with his one word for Trump, weld didn’t hesitate. “Huckster,” he said.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-libertarian-party-is-burning-up-the-polls-2016-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cut-cable-directv-now-streaming-cord-cutting-youtube-tv-hulu-sling-2018-3">I quit cable for DirecTV Now and it's saving me over $1,000 a year — here's how I did it</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/liberland-could-be-powered-by-algae-2016-6The world’s newest nation could be car-free and powered by algaehttp://www.businessinsider.com/liberland-could-be-powered-by-algae-2016-6
Wed, 08 Jun 2016 11:32:00 -0400Dana Varinsky
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/57583ab3dd089509448b488d-2400/p1 7.jpg" alt="Liberland1" data-mce-source="RAW-nyc" /></p><p>A new country calls for a new style of architecture.</p>
<p>That&rsquo;s the premise of<a href="http://inhabitat.com/liberland-may-be-the-worlds-first-sovereign-nation-powered-by-algae/"> a design competition</a>&nbsp;recently held by the government of <a href="https://liberland.org/en/main/">Liberland</a>, the world&rsquo;s youngest sovereign nation.</p>
<p>The three-square-mile country was founded in April 2015 by Vit Jedlicka, a libertarian Czech politician who now serves as Liberland&rsquo;s president.&nbsp;The land is located on the western bank of the Danube river, in a no man&rsquo;s land between Serbia and Croatia that was formed when engineers straightened the course of the Danube in the late 19th century.&nbsp;</p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://designliberland.splashthat.com/">competition&rsquo;s guidelines</a>, the submissions had to be "radically creative, yet mature proposals for a fertile, high-density city-nation of the 21st century."</p>
<p>The winning design, which was <a href="http://liberlandpress.com/2016/05/winners-liberlands-architectural-competition/">announced May 20</a>, is a self-sustaining, algae-powered cityscape in which horizontal layers can&nbsp;be built on top of existing ones as the country&rsquo;s population grows.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/57583ab3dd089509448b488e-1230/p1 4.png" alt="Liberland2" data-mce-source="RAW-nyc" /></p>
<p>The proposal was submitted by <a href="http://rayaani.com/">RAW-nyc</a>, an interdisciplinary architecture studio based in New York. The design calls for algae to be cultivated on the bottom of&nbsp;each layer of the city. The aquatic plants would convert sunlight into energy through photosynthesis and store it in the form of oil, so that biofuel could&nbsp;later&nbsp;be harvested and used to power the city.</p>
<p>All&nbsp;human, agricultural and organic waste would also be converted into forms of biofuel, and buildings would incorporate photovoltaic and solar panels. Vertical gardens and green rooftops would&nbsp;be used to collect rainwater and grow food.</p>
<p>It&rsquo;s a lofty goal, but that&rsquo;s what the competition asked for.</p>
<p>"On a functional level Liberland has no zoning regulations or municipal restrictions. It has no pre-established design culture," the guidelines said. "The field is wide open to innovation on every scale."</p>
<p>Jedlicka envisions the nation as an experiment in libertarianism, with a skeletal government, fully privatized institutions, and a voluntary taxation system.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"The competition gave every skilled architect a chance to envision and design the world&rsquo;s first Libertarian country," he told Tech Insider in an email, adding, "We also wanted to see how people could solve the natural challenges of flooding and limited social space that Liberland faces.&nbsp;This open-competition approach encouraged levels of creativity which would be unachievable with a single provider."</p>
<p>Instead of planning tall high rises to accommodate a dense population that could eventually be squeezed into Liberland's&nbsp;small space, the RAW-nyc team created a technique that they call Inverted Archaeology. Each stackable horizontal layer would contain buildings, streets and landscaping.</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/57583ab3dd089509448b488f-1418/p1 3.png" alt="Liberland3" data-mce-source="RAW-nyc" /></p>
<p>The layers would be staggered, with each one leaving more open, unbuilt space than the one below it so that natural light could&nbsp;penetrate all the way to the ground.&nbsp;Floodable parks would be built on the lowest level to mitigate the risk of an overflowing Danube.</p>
<p>Because Liberland&nbsp;is so small, the plan is completely car-free. The pedestrian-friendly design includes interconnected&nbsp;walking and biking paths throughout the city, as well as an elevated public transit line.</p>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/57583ab3dd089509448b4890-1230/p1 5.png" alt="Liberland5" data-mce-source="RAW-nyc" /></p>
<p>President Jedlicka says the design, which was picked from a pool of 32 entries, incorporates Liberland&rsquo;s values of individuality, self-growth and environmental preservation.</p>
<p>"This stacked-levels approach keeps the people connected, and the city remains able to grow vertically without squeezing us in," he says. "They solved all pressing problems with a project that covered every aspect of green-living and energy renewability."</p>
<p>But in&nbsp;a country that hopes to crowd-fund its state expenditures, employ police and firefighters on a strictly volunteer basis, and rely on the free market to provide everything from health care to education, it is unclear as of yet how an urban planning project of this scale would be funded.</p>
<p>Liberland also hasn't&nbsp;achieved international recognition as a sovereign nation. Jedlicka planted a flag there when he proclaimed the country's founding, but he technically doesn't have any right to it. As of now,&nbsp;neither he nor the 400,000 people who have applied for citizenship can access the land. The Croatian border patrol is now protecting the land from Jedlicka and his people.</p>
<p>"Naturally, all diplomatic matters with both of our neighbors have to be solved first for us to continue," President Jedlika says, adding that the country&rsquo;s first settlements will be boathouses on the Danube. But he is nonetheless optimistic about the implementation of RAW-nyc&rsquo;s plan.</p>
<p>"I would say the chances are high, as it&rsquo;s a complete solution," he says. "It will be a guideline to anyone working on urbanization of Liberland in the future."</p>
<p>For now, though, the world&rsquo;s first sustainable, non-polluting nation exists only in renderings.</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/57583ab3dd089509448b4891-1773/p1 1.png" alt="Liberland3" data-mce-source="RAW-nyc" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/liberland-could-be-powered-by-algae-2016-6#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/singapore-indoor-waterfall-2016-5">A park in Singapore is home to solar-powered 'supertrees' and an incredible indoor waterfall</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/libertarian-gary-johnson-could-pick-off-bernie-sanders-supporters-2016-6Libertarian Gary Johnson could start picking off Bernie Sanders supportershttp://www.businessinsider.com/libertarian-gary-johnson-could-pick-off-bernie-sanders-supporters-2016-6
Tue, 07 Jun 2016 19:20:00 -0400Ciro Scotti
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5757303e9105842b008c75d2-2400/rtx2eqiu.jpg" alt="gary johnson" data-mce-source="Reuters/Kevin Kolczynski" data-mce-caption="Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson gives acceptance speech during National Convention held at the Rosen Centre in Orlando, Florida, May 29, 2016."></p><p>Now that Hillary Clinton has <a href="http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/latestnews/2016/06/06/Clinton-reaches-number-delegates-needed-clinch-Democratic-nomination-AP">clinched the Democratic nomination</a>, at least numerically, the race for president now comes down to the former Secretary of State, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump or…Gary Johnson? </p>
<p>There are plenty of other third-party candidates itching to sit in the Oval Office, but former New Mexico Governor Johnson, the nominee of the Libertarian Party and a recovering Republican, has an edge over the rest of those on the fringe of the presidential contest.</p>
<p>He will be <a href="https://www.lp.org/2016-presidential-ballot-access-map">on the ballot in 32 states</a> and is working to get on the rest; he has been here before, having captured one percent of the general election vote in 2012; and he is at <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/why-a-former-governor-thinks-2016-could-be-a-third-party-year/">long last starting to get noticed</a>.</p>
<p>Johnson’s positions <a href="http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2012/09/26/who-in-world-is-gary-johnson-and-why-dont-know-about-him.html">haven’t changed much since his last run</a>, but in this bizarre election year, there is a factor that could work in Johnson’s favor: Bernie Sanders and his frenzy of followers.</p>
<p>Johnson and Sanders are on <a href="http://presidential-candidates.insidegov.com/compare/35-39/Bernie-Sanders-vs-Gary-Johnson">many of the same pages</a>: Both support a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, both are pro-choice, both support equal pay for equal work, both vigorously back same-sex marriage, both want to keep America out of foreign conflicts, both are for criminal justice reform and both would decriminalize marijuana.</p>
<p>In fact, Johnson may be more vocal about what he calls the failed War on Drugs than Sanders, and he opposes mandatory minimum sentencing that has removed “common-sense discretion from judges and prosecutors.”</p>
<p>Although Sanders has been called soft on gun control by Clinton and others, Johnson is a stronger supporter of the Second Amendment. And his fiscal positions are considerably more conservative – and somewhat less realistic -- than those of Sanders.</p>
<h3><strong>Government spending</strong></h3>
<p><a href="https://garyjohnson2016.com/issues/">Johnson’s website</a><strong> </strong>says that by the time President Obama leaves office, the national debt will be $20 trillion. “That is not just obscene, it is unsustainable — and arguably the single greatest threat to our national security,” his position statement says.</p>
<p>Johnson blames both Republicans and Democrats for years of fiscal irresponsibility and calls balancing the budget without cutting military spending and reforming entitlements “fantasy.”</p>
<h3><strong>Taxes</strong></h3>
<p>Johnson told Judy Woodruff on PBS NewsHour last night that he would eliminate income taxes, eliminate corporate taxes, abolish the IRS and implement a federal consumption tax. “If we abolish corporate tax in this country, I believe tens of millions of jobs would get created. Imagine not having to comply with the IRS,” he said.</p>
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<p>His website reflects the Libertarian rejection of Big Government and its influence on the lives of everyday Americans. “Tax laws have been used not just as a means to collect needed revenues, but as a weapon with which to manipulate our behavior, create and destroy industries and fulfill politicians’ dreams of social engineering,” Johnson’s position statement says.</p>
<h3><strong>A smaller Washington</strong></h3>
<p>Besides eliminating the IRS, Johnson wants to shut down the National Security Agency (NSA), whose domestic spying is anathema to most libertarians both inside and outside the party. And like a lot of conservatives, he favors shuttering the Department of Education.</p>
<p>Unlike Senator Sanders, who has excited many of his younger followers with a call for free college education, Johnson doesn’t believe that the federal government should have a role in education – he thinks schooling at all levels should be in state and local hands. That includes getting government out of the business of guaranteeing student loans.</p>
<p>“Only chance of we have of winning,” Johnson told Fox News, “is to be in the presidential debates.” To be included in the debates, Johnson and running mate William Weld, former governor of Massachusetts, must be getting at least 15 percent in the polls, according to the rules of the Presidential Debate Commission.</p>
<p>In the Real Clear Politics average of national polls, Johnson takes 8.5 percent of the vote, vs. 39 percent for Clinton and 38 percent for Trump. But <a href="http://www.investors.com/politics/clintons-lead-over-trump-narrows-as-disappointment-with-choices-grows/">a new poll</a> by Investor’s Business Daily gives Johnson 11 percent.</p>
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<p>Should Johnson actually get on America’s radar screen and snatch a place in the debates, he would make what has been a wildly unconventional election season even more so because the 63-year-old, pot-smoking candidate (he promises to give up weed if elected) is in many ways less mainstream than Sanders or Trump.</p>
<p>“I believe in free markets. The model of the future should be Uber-everything,” Johnson told satirist Samantha Bee in a <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=samantha+bee+gary+johnson&amp;ie=utf-8&amp;oe=utf-8">refreshingly wacky interview</a> on <em>Full Frontal, </em>“ Uber-accountant, Uber-lawyer, Uber-doctor.”<em> </em>Responded Bee: “I can’t wait to pay surge pricing mid-colonoscopy.”</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-judge-attacks-statement-2016-6" >Donald Trump releases monumental statement on judge attacks, vows to never talk about it again</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/libertarian-gary-johnson-could-pick-off-bernie-sanders-supporters-2016-6#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/open-bionics-prosthetic-arms-2018-2">These bionic arms make kids feel like superheroes</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-libertarians-to-pick-nominee-to-challenge-trump-democrat-2016-5Libertarians picked this man to challenge Trump and the Democratic nomineehttp://www.businessinsider.com/ap-libertarians-to-pick-nominee-to-challenge-trump-democrat-2016-5
Sun, 29 May 2016 17:36:00 -0400Terry Spencer
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/574b5aab5124c92036c24a64-800/ap-libertarians-to-pick-nominee-to-challenge-trump-democrat.jpg" alt="FILE - In a Friday, May 27, 2016 file photo, Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson speaks to supporters and delegates at the National Libertarian Party Convention, in Orlando, Fla. Omn Sunday, May 29, 2016, The Libertarian Party again nominated former New Mexico Gov. Johnson as its presidential candidate, believing he can challenge presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton because of their poor showing in popularity polls. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)" border="0" /></p><p>The Libertarian Party again nominated former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson as its presidential candidate Sunday, believing he can challenge presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton because of their poor showing in popularity polls.</p>
<p>Johnson, 63, won the nomination on the second ballot at the party's convention in Orlando, Florida, defeating Austin Petersen, the founder of The Libertarian Republic magazine; and anti-computer virus company founder John McAfee.</p>
<p>The delegates selected former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld to be his vice presidential running mate.</p>
<p>Johnson, the party's nominee in 2012, told the delegates during his acceptance speech that his job will be to get the Libertarian platform before the voters at a level the party has not seen.</p>
<p>"I am fiscally conservative in spades and I am socially liberal in spades," Johnson told The Associated Press. "I would cut back on military interventions that have the unintended consequence of making us less safe in the world."</p>
<p>On fiscal matters, Libertarians push for reduced spending and taxes, saying the federal government has gotten too big across the board. Johnson proposes eliminating federal income and corporate taxes and replacing those with a national sales tax.</p>
<p>He would reduce domestic spending by eliminating the Internal Revenue Service, the Commerce and Education departments, the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration.</p>
<p>On social issues, Libertarians generally support abortion rights, gun rights, same-sex marriage and drug legalization, saying people should be allowed to do anything that doesn't hurt others.</p>
<p>Johnson served as New Mexico's governor from 1995 to 2003 as a Republican after a career as the owner of one of that state's largest construction companies.</p>
<p>After failing to gain traction in the GOP's 2012 primaries, he changed his registration to Libertarian shortly before running for that party's nomination that year. He won the nomination and got just short of 1 percent of the general election vote against President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney.</p>
<p><img class="center" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/574b603b91058427008c5ac5-2400/gettyimages-154632368.jpg" alt="gary johnson 2012 debate" data-mce-source="Scott Olson/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson speaks during a debate for third-party presidential candidates in 2012." />For Johnson to make a serious run this year, he needs to qualify for the presidential debates. To do that, he must average 15 percent in five recognized polls.</p>
<p>He hopes that is doable because Trump and Clinton are both seen unfavorably by a majority of voters, according to recent polls.</p>
<p>Johnson will also need to overcome a huge financial disadvantage and history.</p>
<p>In 2012, Obama and Romney spent over a billion dollars each, a figure Trump and Clinton, if she is the Democratic nominee, are expected to also reach. Johnson spent $2.5 million in 2012, about one dollar for every 400 Obama and Romney each spent. Johnson hopes to raise "tens of millions of dollars" this time.</p>
<p>"Then we can leverage that to a level where we could wage political war" by hiring staff and running TV and radio commercials, Johnson said. He said Weld will help in this effort, having raised about $250 million during his political career compared to Johnson's $8 million. Weld, 70, was Massachusetts governor from 1991 to 1997, also as a Republican.</p>
<p>The Libertarian Party has been running presidential tickets since 1972, but has never been a major factor. The party's best showing was 1980, when candidate Ed Clark got slightly more than 1 percent of the vote. The only electoral vote the party has received was in 1972, when a renegade Virginia elector pledged to President Richard Nixon cast his ballot for Libertarian John Hospers instead.</p>
<p>Third parties have never won a U.S. presidential election. Former Republican President Teddy Roosevelt, running on the Bull Moose Party ticket, got 27 percent of the popular vote and 88 electoral votes in 1912. He finished second to Democrat Woodrow Wilson, the only time a third party candidate has finished that well.</p>
<p>Other notable third-party runs include former Alabama Gov. George Wallace, who got 13 percent of the popular vote in 1968, winning 45 electoral votes; and billionaire businessman Ross Perot, who got 19 percent of the popular vote in 1992 but no electoral votes.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-libertarians-to-pick-nominee-to-challenge-trump-democrat-2016-5#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/john-mcafee-was-like-charlie-sheen-in-younger-days-but-no-more-2016-5JOHN MCAFEE: I might've been like Charlie Sheen in my younger days, but not anymorehttp://www.businessinsider.com/john-mcafee-was-like-charlie-sheen-in-younger-days-but-no-more-2016-5
Mon, 09 May 2016 10:21:00 -0400John McAfee
<p><em><strong><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/56e424f4910584cc5e8b5d69-693-519/20150708__0709mcafee-2.png" alt="John McAfee" data-mce-source="John McAfee" data-mce-caption="John McAfee" />John McAfee is running for US president as a member of the Libertarian Party. This is an op-ed he wrote and gave us permission to run.</strong></em></p>
<p>As you or may not know, I am running for President of the United States under the Libertarian&nbsp;Party banner. The first step in this process is winning the Libertarian nomination. Since I am the&nbsp;only nationally known candidate in this nomination process, I naturally assumed the wise ones&nbsp;within the party would assure my nomination and I therefore focused my attention entirely on the&nbsp;two major political party nominees that seem certain to win their party&rsquo;s support - Donald Trump&nbsp;and Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>This is my first foray into politics, and I have had the political education of a lifetime crammed&nbsp;into a seven month period. My first rude awakening was that the Libertarian party is composed&nbsp;of a wide field of sometimes opposing opinions. A long held opinion among the old guard is that&nbsp;one of my competitive contenders, Gary Johnson, who ran for president in 2012 and received&nbsp;less than 1% of the vote, is the party's best chance to win this year.</p>
<p>I like Gary. He is a nice man. Sincerely. But I invite anyone to watch a single video of him, of&nbsp;which there are many on the web, and ask yourself how he would do in a debate with, for&nbsp;example, Donald Trump. Or whether anyone could ever consider him, with his unique&nbsp;personality so entirely devoid of charisma, could ever get more than 1% of the popular vote. He&nbsp;is the most uncomfortable person in his own skin that I have ever met. Watch and make your&nbsp;own decision.</p>
<p>But the above was an aside. I wanted to talk about the astonishing education I have received in&nbsp;my first entry into the political arena. I am familiar with businesses, having started seventeen in&nbsp;my life. Almost all of them successful, and one of them now worth more than a billion dollars.</p>
<p>The fourth company I founded - McAfee Inc. - was sold to Intel for more than $7 billion a&nbsp;few years ago. I have started many companies now worth more than $100 million. So I&nbsp;know a little about business.</p>
<p>Corporate competition is fierce, and as it is viewed by many as economic warfare, all is fair. But&nbsp;politics&hellip; now, this is something unique.</p>
<p>The most astonishing thing about politics, is that its participants, at least on the campaign trail,&nbsp;seem oblivious to the realities of the modern world.</p>
<p>According to organization charts, manifold legislations, government enforcement agencies, etc.,&nbsp;the U.S. government is an independent entity with its own power.</p>
<p>Someone should inform the executives of Google about this, or perhaps Rupert Murdoch,&nbsp;because I can assure you that they would be shocked at such a naive conception.</p>
<p>Dwight Eisenhower warned American citizens at the end of his presidency about the&nbsp;implications of the military-industrial complex and its influence over government. We have now&nbsp;gone well beyond any of the wildest imaginations that could have entered Eisenhower's mind.</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/56d469e0dd0895681b8b4601-4608-3456/ap897923948418.jpg" alt="Tim Cook" data-mce-source="AP" /></p>
<p>The recent mini-war between the FBI and Apple Inc., into which I inserted myself to no small&nbsp;degree, should at least give a clue, to those of you with the right kind of perceptions, where true&nbsp;power lies in this modern world.</p>
<p>Money used to be the standard commodity of exchange and the source of all power. Anyone&nbsp;who can add two and two can now look at the millions of applications on Google Play, which are&nbsp;absolutely free, in terms of money - many of which cost tens of millions of dollars to develop -&nbsp;and perceive the absolute truth that information is becoming the new commodity of exchange.</p>
<p>These &ldquo;free&rdquo; applications ask for permission to read your emails, your text messages, listen to&nbsp;your phone calls, record video from your phone, etc. Why else would someone spend millions&nbsp;developing an application which they then give away. Kind heart maybe? Get real. What price&nbsp;can you possibly put on this information that these apps are gathering?</p>
<p>Well, if you have ever done anything truly wrong in your life, then this information might be worth&nbsp;all that you own. If you are squeaky clean, then at least the app knows your life preferences&nbsp;and it will be easier to sell you something.</p>
<p>So believe me, information is the new power in this world. Which brings me back to the political&nbsp;process.</p>
<p>The one thing more powerful than information is disinformation. It has won wars, sold&nbsp;newspapers, destroyed careers and frequently entertained us.</p>
<p>This is where politics shines.</p>
<p>My first campaign manager, whom I shall not name, contacted me shortly after I joined the&nbsp;Libertarian Party and offered his services. I discovered almost immediately that he was a mole from one of of the other Libertarian Party contenders. I chose to accept him anyway. Why?</p>
<p>Because I have spent my entire life in information security, which basically means that there is&nbsp;nothing about anyone that I cannot discover. It also means that I am well versed in the art of&nbsp;disinformation. So not only did I know every piece of information that was passed between my&nbsp;manager and his handlers, and back, I had the opportunity to pull the strings of my political&nbsp;opponent. Trivial for any human engineer with even moderate hacking skills.</p>
<p>Since the convention is only one month away, I changed to a real campaign manager just to&nbsp;ensure that I had the nomination sealed.</p>
<p>Recently, I had the opportunity to experience mud slinging - a form of disinformation - from an&nbsp;opponent - mild in comparison to what I will surely receive from the more experienced&nbsp;opponents from the Republican and Democratic parties, but comical and entertaining&nbsp;nevertheless.</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/569577bcc08a80880e8b8ebb-1049-786/sheenside.jpg" alt="charlie sheen" data-mce-source="Getty" /></p>
<p>On one of my opponents social media outlets I am being compared to Charlie Sheen in&nbsp;unflattering ways.</p>
<p>Mind you, I admire Charlie Sheen as an actor, and I thought his performances in Platoon and&nbsp;Wall Street were Oscar quality. I also have no judgment against his reported use of drugs or&nbsp;his proclivity for prostitutes, both qualities of which I am accused of by proponents of my&nbsp;opponent. I am a Libertarian after all and Libertarians believe that one should live one's life as&nbsp;they please, providing it harms no one else.</p>
<p>But I would like to add my own perceptions.</p>
<p>It is true that I have taken more drugs in my life that would fill an average living room from floor&nbsp;to ceiling. However, I have taken no drugs at all since I was 38 years old. I am now 70.</p>
<p>Admittedly I drink occasionally, so perhaps I can be faulted for that.</p>
<p>As for a proclivity for prostitutes, it is true that I am married to an ex-prostitute. She was forced&nbsp;into prostitution at the age of 20. She was brutally beaten every day for ten years. She was&nbsp;isolated from friends and family. She was threatened with death. She was treated as a slave.</p>
<p>I rescued her three and a half years ago and married her.</p>
<p>As to Mr. Sheen&rsquo;s alleged craziness, I do not know him personally. As for me, I have written&nbsp;over 100 articles over the past three years for International Business Times, Business Insider,&nbsp;Digital Trends, Silicon Angle, Forbes and Newsweek. If any of them sound crazy, then perhaps I&nbsp;am.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-mcafee-heres-my-number-dont-call-me-2016-4" >JOHN McAFEE: Here's my number — don't call me</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-mcafee-was-like-charlie-sheen-in-younger-days-but-no-more-2016-5#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/meaning-of-fake-news-and-make-america-great-again-steven-pinker-2018-3">Harvard professor Steven Pinker explains the disturbing truth behind Trump's 2 favorite phrases</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/it-might-be-time-to-start-thinking-about-third-party-candidates-2016-5It might be time to start thinking about third party candidateshttp://www.businessinsider.com/it-might-be-time-to-start-thinking-about-third-party-candidates-2016-5
Thu, 05 May 2016 20:24:00 -0400Martin Matishak
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/572bc02691058425008c1115-3000-1931/rtr34xr2.jpg" alt="jill stein green party" data-mce-source="Reuters/Jonathan Ernst" data-mce-caption="Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein (R) stands with party officials at a news conference at the Green Party presidential nominating convention in Baltimore, Maryland, July 14, 2012." /></p><p>Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have something in common as they look ahead to a November showdown: Both would enter the general election with the some of the highest unfavorable ratings in modern political history.</p>
<p>A&nbsp;<a href="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2016/images/05/04/rel6b.-.2016.general.pdf">CNN/ORC poll</a>&nbsp;released Wednesday found 57 percent of Americans have a negative opinion about Trump, while only 39 percent view him favorably. Feelings about Clinton are more evenly split, with 49 percent unfavorable and 48 percent favorable.</p>
<p>The numbers are likely to creep higher over the next six months as the former secretary of state and the real estate mogul wage an all-out war for the White House.</p>
<p>What is the uninspired voter to do? Hold your nose and pull the lever? Move to Canada?</p>
<p>Well, there&rsquo;s another option: Support a third party candidate.</p>
<p>The last major third party nominee was Ross Perot, the businessman who ran for president in 1992 as an independent and garnered 18.9 percent of the general election vote. And of course the Green Party nominated Ralph Nader in 2000, much to Al Gore&rsquo;s regret.</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/572bc18c52bcd028008c11f2-1849-1228/rtxf2ye.jpg" alt="ross perrot third party candidate" data-mce-source="Reuters/Sam Mircovich" data-mce-caption="Independent Presidential candidate Ross Perot holds aloft historic newspaper Nov 1 that declared Thomas Dewey the victor in the presidential race against Harry Truman." /></p>
<p>The tumultuous spectacle that has been the 2016 presidential campaign has some lesser-known contenders hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. Here are three of the leading alternative parties:</p>
<h3><strong>The Green Party</strong></h3>
<p>The party&rsquo;s 2012 nominee, Massachusetts physician Jill Stein, is running again.</p>
<p>The 65-year-old, who has proposed a "Green New Deal" that promises to create 20 million living wage jobs, earned 469,015 votes in the 2012 general election when she ran against President Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.</p>
<h3><strong>The Libertarian Party</strong></h3>
<p>The well-established group is already on the ballot in over 30 states and could make all 50 by the time Election Day rolls around.</p>
<p>Who the Libertarian nominee might be is less clear. Former New Mexico Governor and 2012 standard-bearer Gary Johnson is facing off against software entrepreneur John McAfee, who originally entered the presidential race under the banner of the Cyber Party. (Of potential interest to libertarian-minded voters: In 2012, McAfee was named a person of interest in the murder of his neighbor in Belize.)</p>
<p>Libertarians will pick their nominee at their four-day convention in Orlando in late May, hoping to build on the 1 percent of the vote Johnson garnered in 2012.</p>
<h3><strong>The Constitution Party</strong></h3>
<p>Founded in 1992 with a &ldquo;focus of returning government to the U.S. Constitution&rsquo;s provisions and limitations,&rdquo; the Constitution Party is on the ballot in well over a dozen states.</p>
<p>The group has a leg up on other third party contenders since its 2016 ticket is already in place following its convention last month in Salt Lake City. Tennessee resident and Vietnam veteran Darrell Castle is the presidential nominee and Scott Bradley is the vice presidential pick.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/it-might-be-time-to-start-thinking-about-third-party-candidates-2016-5#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/meaning-of-fake-news-and-make-america-great-again-steven-pinker-2018-3">Harvard professor Steven Pinker explains the disturbing truth behind Trump's 2 favorite phrases</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/john-mcafee-heres-my-number-dont-call-me-2016-4JOHN McAFEE: Here's my number — don't call mehttp://www.businessinsider.com/john-mcafee-heres-my-number-dont-call-me-2016-4
Mon, 18 Apr 2016 08:26:00 -0400John McAfee
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/570be34552bcd0210c8bbea5-602-452/presidential-hopeful-john-mcafee-talks-cybersecurity.jpg" alt="John McAfee" data-mce-source="John McAfee"></p><p><strong><em>John McAfee is running for US president as a member of the Libertarian Party. This is an op-ed he wrote and gave us permission to run.</em></strong></p>
<p>Libertarianism contains an important principle called “non-aggression.” It means that we do not strike out at another person or entity. It also states that if someone strikes out at us, we respond with the minimal force necessary to defend ourselves. Saturday, I got another chance to practice this principle.</p>
<p>Internet trolls are an annoyance for many of us. They enter our chat rooms, post unflattering comments to our posts, seek out our friends and acquaintances and harass them and generally manifest as a swarm of mosquitoes.</p>
<p>I have existed much of my life in the on-line world, beginning with bulletin board systems in the mid 1980s. I in fact owned the largest bulletin board in Silicon Valley from 1985 to 1989 — Homebase. If anyone has experience dealing with trolls, then I come close to being that person. Yesterday a troll was annoying my wife on Facebook and I gently stepped in to prove a point. I posted my private phone number for all the world to see then I invited the troll to call me. The following screenshot, posted 6 hours later shows the result:</p>
<p><div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">
<a href="https://t.co/MadJUdweaj">pic.twitter.com/MadJUdweaj</a> </p>— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/721516953265913856">April 17, 2016</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></p>
<p>My post received 1,100 likes.</p>
<p>Now, I risked being called by random strangers for the rest of my life. But I have faith in my followers. After the above post I received 7 additional calls — all from people who had not read the post. One half hour after the post the calls stopped and I have had no random stranger calls since.</p>
<p>I was polite and chatted for a minute or two with every caller. I believe I will have 200 or so extra votes for my candidacy.</p>
<p>Jonathan Garber at Business Insider challenged me to publish my number again in this article.</p>
<p>Here it is:</p>
<p>731-608-8837</p>
<p>Before you call, keep this in mind:</p>
<p>I published my number in a forum of my supporters. I knew they would not call when I asked. This forum is not the same. Any random call will not be received kindly. And if you think you can block your number, or use a caller I.D. spoofer and I will not know who you are, then you do not know who I am.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-mcafee-on-the-campaign-trail-2016-4" >JOHN McAFEE: On the campaign trail</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-mcafee-heres-my-number-dont-call-me-2016-4#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-mcafee-free-apps-danger-android-iphone-2016-3">JOHN MCAFEE: Why downloading free apps is dangerous</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/john-mcafee-if-the-spirit-of-america-is-to-survive-there-must-be-decisive-change-2016-3JOHN MCAFEE: Join the crusade to save our countryhttp://www.businessinsider.com/john-mcafee-if-the-spirit-of-america-is-to-survive-there-must-be-decisive-change-2016-3
Fri, 11 Mar 2016 09:04:00 -0500John McAfee
<p><strong><em><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/56d0780e6e97c62c008b9efd-3112-2334/rtr3b7s4.jpg" alt="John McAfee" data-mce-source="Reuters/William Gularte" data-mce-caption="John McAfee, U.S. anti-virus software guru, addresses a news conference outside the Supreme Court of Justice in Guatemala City." data-link="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0BXZITIF2SU&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1279&amp;RH=850#/SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0BXZITIF2SU&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1279&amp;RH=850&amp;PN=2&amp;POPUPPN=64&amp;POPUPIID=2C0408T0I44UU" />Tech entrepreneur&nbsp;John McAfee is running for president in the US as a member of the Libertarian Party. This is an op-ed article he wrote and gave us permission to run.</em></strong></p>
<p>This article may disturb some people. For that I apologize in advance, but I feel compelled, at&nbsp;this point, to step outside the narrow path of acceptability. I am moved to bare my heart and&nbsp;confess my thoughts.</p>
<p>I am writing this to the disaffected, the disenfranchised, the angry and frustrated. I am speaking&nbsp;to the heart of Americans who feel alienated from the government that we ourselves created.</p>
<p>I'm speaking to those of you who may have left the comfort of your home on a dark night and&nbsp;wandered down lonely streets, or those who have glimpsed, in the people closest to you, the&nbsp;depth and mysteries within that person, and felt an exquisite communion - even for a moment.</p>
<p>I&rsquo;m speaking to the people who have questioned, and irrespective of the cost, have sought&nbsp;answers, or to those who have traveled extensively and seen and experienced ways of living&nbsp;which seem alien to our culture.</p>
<p>And I'm speaking to those of you who have viewed themselves in the mirror of your own&nbsp;existence, and experienced a profound epiphany of self revelation - or who at least looked with&nbsp;the hope of finding one.</p>
<p>I will tell you who I am - without polish or apologies - without pride or shame, and I will tell you&nbsp;why, after 70 years of inhabiting this planet, I am speaking out.</p>
<p>Everything of value in life I have learned from experience. I am not a great student or a great&nbsp;reader. I was thirty years old before I read my first book, cover to cover. It was Darwin's &ldquo;Origin&nbsp;of Species&rdquo;. I was dealing drugs in Mexico at the time and it was the only English language&nbsp;book I could get my hands on.</p>
<p>I was arrested in Mexico and severely punished for my actions. It was the first time that I fully&nbsp;understood the value of freedom and privacy, because in prison, both are removed in their&nbsp;entirety.</p>
<p>I have traveled extensively, and through experience have learned that America&rsquo;s interference in&nbsp;the internal affairs of foreign nations comes at a price. While living in Belize, one of the most&nbsp;corrupt nations in the world, I was approached by a local politician who politely asked for a 2&nbsp;million dollar donation to the ruling political party. I declined.</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/555254cd6da8118545fe49d6-887-665/belize-6.jpg" alt="belize" data-mce-source="Shutterstock" /></p>
<p>One week later, in March of 2012,&nbsp;an elite Belizean paramilitary force, who had been trained by the FBI in Quantico, stormed my&nbsp;property. They shot my dog in front of my eyes with an AR-15 supplied by the U.S. State&nbsp;Department. They destroyed a half million dollars worth of my property and then left.</p>
<p>The&nbsp;following day the same political representative stopped by to apologize profusely for the&nbsp;&ldquo;mistaken identity&rdquo; raid, and then asked if I had reconsidered my donation. I suggested that he&nbsp;get the f--- off of my property. Thus began my war with Belize that ended in the murder of my&nbsp;neighbor and the resulting manhunt for me that garnered international attention.</p>
<p>I understand full well what twisted webs our State Department can weave.</p>
<p>I learned that our bodies belong to ourselves, and that no government can own our bodies.</p>
<p>Throughout history, all attempts to criminalize what we do to or with our bodies have not in any&nbsp;way changed what we choose to do with our bodies. The criminalization of drug use has not&nbsp;diminished our consumption of drugs. It has merely created a brutal drug cartel and filled our&nbsp;prisons with nonviolent citizens. No legislation that attempts to control what we do to, or with our&nbsp;bodies can succeed. We should have learned this with our failed attempt to criminalize alcohol&nbsp;consumption in the 30&rsquo;s.</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/56126f376bb3f73c5571f755-2775-2081/prohibition-4.jpg" alt="Prohibition" data-mce-source="Wikimedia Commons" data-mce-caption="Orange County (California) sheriff's deputies dumping illegal alcohol, 1932" /></p>
<p>My own understanding of this issue came from a variety of experiences, but it was my wife who&nbsp;brought things fully into focus.</p>
<p>My wife was forced into prostitution at the age of 20. For ten years she was beaten, threatened&nbsp;and abused on a daily basis. She was isolated from her family and friends and forced into&nbsp;unspeakable situations. She was a virtual slave. Her pimp, brutal and cruel, like every pimp,&nbsp;was the agent of these horrors.</p>
<p>The profession of pimping is created by the criminalization of prostitution. Sex workers are&nbsp;abused by customers because they know that the women can't call the police for help. A tough&nbsp;pimp offers the illusion of protection when in reality sex workers are still abused by their&nbsp;customers. In fact, the police themselves frequently force sex workers into performing unwilling&nbsp;sexual acts to avoid being arrested.</p>
<p>I personally rescued Janice three and a half years ago. I married her and she is sitting by my&nbsp;side now as I write this. I love her deeply.</p>
<p>I learned from experience that we must keep our agreements, because there is no other way to&nbsp;have a peaceful society. I learned that we cannot harm one another or unjustly take each others&nbsp;property, because I have been harmed much and much has been taken from me.</p>
<p>I learned that any experiment of value in this life will be carried out at our own expense, and that&nbsp;every action, good or bad, has its consequences.</p>
<p>These are the realities of life as I have experienced them.</p>
<p>It is my belief that any government created by people should accept the same realities that it's&nbsp;people must live by and act accordingly.</p>
<p>I now ask you - is our government acting on the same principles that you and I must live by?</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5374dca26bb3f79d0f360e29-1743-1307/capitol-dc.jpg" alt="capitol dc" data-mce-source="Getty/Brendon Hoffman" /></p>
<p>Are you, when you have no money, able to print your own, as our government, in effect, does?&nbsp;Are you able to change what is right or wrong at your whim as our Congress does through the&nbsp;passage of conflicting legislation as each new administration comes and goes? Do you have the&nbsp;right to spy on whomever you choose? Do you exist, parasitically, off of the labors of others?</p>
<p>We need to look closely at these and the myriad other ways in which our government does not&nbsp;reflect the hearts and minds of it&rsquo;s citizens.</p>
<p>Our government was created to serve us. We did not imbue it with the power to be our mother&nbsp;and father, deciding what is best for us and in what manner we should live. We did not create it&nbsp;to be our boss or our guardian. As adults, we need none of the above. But our government has&nbsp;obviously assumed those powers. Slowly and insidiously. If the spirit of America is to survive,&nbsp;there must be decisive change.</p>
<p>I am running for President and I am a member of the Libertarian party. The Libertarian Party&nbsp;stands for Freedom, Privacy and Personal Responsibility. Libertarians believe that government&nbsp;best serves by leaving us alone to live our lives as we see fit.</p>
<p>Libertarians believe that our bodies belong to ourselves, not to the government. We believe that&nbsp;we should not harm one another and that we should not take each others stuff. We believe our&nbsp;current government is engorged, bloated and inefficient and that it no longer serves us. We&nbsp;believe in the right to freedom and privacy. We believe that we are the last hope for this failing&nbsp;country.</p>
<p>I have bared my heart and soul to you. If doing so has been of any value, then at least consider&nbsp;investigating the Libertarian Party, and perhaps you may even be moved to join this crusade to&nbsp;save our country.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-mcafee-obama-administration-privacy-2016-1" >JOHN MCAFEE: The Obama administration doesn't understand what 'privacy' means — let me explain</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-mcafee-if-the-spirit-of-america-is-to-survive-there-must-be-decisive-change-2016-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/journalist-vegas-tenold-investigated-neo-nazis-for-six-years-2018-3">Neo-Nazi groups let a journalist in their meetings and rallies — here's what he saw</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/gary-johnson-2016-presidential-plans-2016-2Libertarian Party candidate: Bernie Sanders vs. Donald Trump would be our 2016 dreamhttp://www.businessinsider.com/gary-johnson-2016-presidential-plans-2016-2
Sun, 07 Feb 2016 10:33:00 -0500Colin Campbell
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/56b1fd076e97c61a008b4640-1361-1021/gary johnson.png" alt="gary johnson" data-mce-source="Fox News/screenshot" data-mce-caption="Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson on Fox News." data-link="http://video.foxnews.com/v/4716765961001/gov-gary-johnson-explains-why-he-is-running-for-president/?#sp=show-clips" /></p><p>Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson thinks Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump could be his ticket to having a significant effect on&nbsp;the 2016 race.</p>
<p>"If the Libertarian candidate for president ever &mdash; ever! &mdash; has a chance of getting elected or getting prominence on the national stage to actually profess what is to be a Libertarian, it would be Bernie Sanders vs.&nbsp;Donald Trump," Johnson told Business Insider in a recent interview.</p>
<p>"I mean, that would be the Libertarian wet dream," he quipped of the scenario.</p>
<p>Johnson ran for president as a Republican in 2012 before changing teams and running as the Libertarian Party's nominee. He dropped by Business Insider's office at the end of last month to pitch his second campaign for the White House.</p>
<p>"I don't want to be tilting at windmills, right? There are better things to do," Johnson said. "But in this case, I think that at the end of the day, I will end up being the voice of reason in all of this."</p>
<p>The former governor said he had a "horrible" time running in 2012 and trying go grab attention as a Republican. As a Libertarian, he ultimately grabbed about <a href="http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2012/federalelections2012.pdf">1% of the votes cast</a>&nbsp;&mdash;&nbsp;a bit under 1.3 million votes.</p>
<p>Without self-funding his campaign like Ross Perot in the 90s, most political observers would predict that Johnson, if he gets the Libertarian nomination, would again suffer&nbsp;the fate of virtually every other third-party presidential candidate in recent history.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/56b270456e97c62f008b4a7c-3000-1500/ap_127758110636.jpg" alt="gary johnson" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Morgan Lee" data-mce-caption="Johnson." /></p>
<p>But Johnson argued that either of the top-two Democratic presidential candidates &mdash; Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton &mdash; would contrast well with a Libertarian contender if real-estate mogul Donald Trump were the Republican nominee.</p>
<p>"None of this may transpire, right. But if Trump is the nominee, and if Hillary is the nominee &mdash; and I think there is certainty about Hillary, unless there's an assassination, and I'm not wishing that upon her &mdash; I think people are going to look to: 'Well, what is the other choice?'" he predicted.</p>
<p>"Keep in mind, too, that the biggest political affiliation in the United States is independent," he added. "Well, who is the third party? Well, the Libertarians are the third party. The Libertarians are going to be on the ballot in all 50 states."</p>
<p>Johnson also said he was suing to get into the general-election debates, which are typically&nbsp;one-on-one matchups between the Republican and Democratic candidates.</p>
<p>He said a prominent constitutional lawyer, Bruce Fein, had already filed a lawsuit against the Commission on Presidential Debates based on "the notion that they are a business and that they collude with one another to exclude everyone else."</p>
<p>Johnson added: "Our contention is that if you're on the ballot on enough states to be mathematically elected, then shouldn't you be included in the presidential debates?"</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/56b272ef2e5265ba008b4a46-3000-1500/gettyimages-95756468.jpg" alt="gary johnson" data-mce-source="Kris Connor/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Johnson." /></p>
<p>Johnson stressed that he still has to win the Libertarian Party's nomination, for which he is competing against a host of other candidates.</p>
<p>In order to make his campaign strategy more effective this time, Johnson said he decided to home in on New York-based national media outlets &mdash; including Business Insider and the Fox Business Network &mdash; instead of calling into internet-radio stations or convincing voters one by one.</p>
<p>He said of his 2012 race:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">I'm not putting myself through it again. So when you go back and when I relive the four years that I put into running for president the first time &mdash; first as a Republican and then shifting over to a Libertarian &mdash; in retrospect, 90% of the time I spent doing that was wasted time.</p>
<p>"The most valuable time that I spent last cycle was New York," he said.</p>
<p>Johnson, who started his own medical marijuana business in 2014, also told Business Insider that his company's brand &mdash; <a href="http://www.hilozenge.com/#!gary-johnson/c1kzz">"hi"</a> &mdash; would outlive even Trump's brand.</p>
<p>"We have the coolest brand name out there. It's a brand name that's going to survive 1,000 years from now. And it's, 'hi,'" he said.</p>
<p>"We think we'll sell a billion dollars worth of T-shirts at some point," the former governor added, "because it's really cool <em>schwag</em>."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gary-johnson-is-hyped-about-his-new-weed-business-2014-7" >Former Presidential Candidate Is Hyped About His New Weed Business</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gary-johnson-2016-presidential-plans-2016-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-browser-magnitsky-act-how-sanctions-on-russia-hurt-putins-most-closest-allies-2018-3">BILL BROWDER: How sanctions on Russia hurt Putin's closest allies</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/gary-johnson-2016-presidential-plans-2016-2Libertarian Party candidate: Bernie Sanders vs. Donald Trump would be our 2016 dreamhttp://www.businessinsider.com/gary-johnson-2016-presidential-plans-2016-2
Fri, 05 Feb 2016 10:33:09 -0500Colin Campbell
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/56b1fd076e97c61a008b4640-1361-1021/gary johnson.png" alt="gary johnson" data-mce-source="Fox News/screenshot" data-mce-caption="Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson on Fox News." data-link="http://video.foxnews.com/v/4716765961001/gov-gary-johnson-explains-why-he-is-running-for-president/?#sp=show-clips" /></p><p>Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson thinks Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump could be his ticket to having a significant effect on&nbsp;the 2016 race.</p>
<p>"If the Libertarian candidate for president ever &mdash; ever! &mdash; has a chance of getting elected or getting prominence on the national stage to actually profess what is to be a Libertarian, it would be Bernie Sanders vs.&nbsp;Donald Trump," Johnson told Business Insider in a recent interview.</p>
<p>"I mean, that would be the Libertarian wet dream," he quipped of the scenario.</p>
<p>Johnson ran for president as a Republican in 2012 before changing teams and running as the Libertarian Party's nominee. He dropped by Business Insider's office at the end of last month to pitch his second campaign for the White House.</p>
<p>"I don't want to be tilting at windmills, right? There are better things to do," Johnson said. "But in this case, I think that at the end of the day, I will end up being the voice of reason in all of this."</p>
<p>The former governor said he had a "horrible" time running in 2012 and trying go grab attention as a Republican. As a Libertarian, he ultimately grabbed about <a href="http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2012/federalelections2012.pdf">1% of the votes cast</a>&nbsp;&mdash;&nbsp;a bit under 1.3 million votes.</p>
<p>Without self-funding his campaign like Ross Perot in the 90s, most political observers would predict that Johnson, if he gets the Libertarian nomination, would again suffer&nbsp;the fate of virtually every other third-party presidential candidate in recent history.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/56b270456e97c62f008b4a7c-3000-1500/ap_127758110636.jpg" alt="gary johnson" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Morgan Lee" data-mce-caption="Johnson." /></p>
<p>But Johnson argued that either of the top-two Democratic presidential candidates &mdash; Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton &mdash; would contrast well with a Libertarian contender if real-estate mogul Donald Trump were the Republican nominee.</p>
<p>"None of this may transpire, right. But if Trump is the nominee, and if Hillary is the nominee &mdash; and I think there is certainty about Hillary, unless there's an assassination, and I'm not wishing that upon her &mdash; I think people are going to look to: 'Well, what is the other choice?'" he predicted.</p>
<p>"Keep in mind, too, that the biggest political affiliation in the United States is independent," he added. "Well, who is the third party? Well, the Libertarians are the third party. The Libertarians are going to be on the ballot in all 50 states."</p>
<p>Johnson also said he was suing to get into the general-election debates, which are typically&nbsp;one-on-one matchups between the Republican and Democratic candidates.</p>
<p>He said a prominent constitutional lawyer, Bruce Fein, had already filed a lawsuit against the Commission on Presidential Debates based on "the notion that they are a business and that they collude with one another to exclude everyone else."</p>
<p>Johnson added: "Our contention is that if you're on the ballot on enough states to be mathematically elected, then shouldn't you be included in the presidential debates?"</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/56b272ef2e5265ba008b4a46-3000-1500/gettyimages-95756468.jpg" alt="gary johnson" data-mce-source="Kris Connor/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Johnson." /></p>
<p>Johnson stressed that he still has to win the Libertarian Party's nomination, for which he is competing against a host of other candidates.</p>
<p>In order to make his campaign strategy more effective this time, Johnson said he decided to home in on New York-based national media outlets &mdash; including Business Insider and the Fox Business Network &mdash; instead of calling into internet-radio stations or convincing voters one by one.</p>
<p>He said of his 2012 race:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">I'm not putting myself through it again. So when you go back and when I relive the four years that I put into running for president the first time &mdash; first as a Republican and then shifting over to a Libertarian &mdash; in retrospect, 90% of the time I spent doing that was wasted time.</p>
<p>"The most valuable time that I spent last cycle was New York," he said.</p>
<p>Johnson, who started his own medical marijuana business in 2014, also told Business Insider that his company's brand &mdash; <a href="http://www.hilozenge.com/#!gary-johnson/c1kzz">"hi"</a> &mdash; would outlive even Trump's brand.</p>
<p>"We have the coolest brand name out there. It's a brand name that's going to survive 1,000 years from now. And it's, 'hi,'" he said.</p>
<p>"We think we'll sell a billion dollars worth of T-shirts at some point," the former governor added, "because it's really cool <em>schwag</em>."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gary-johnson-is-hyped-about-his-new-weed-business-2014-7" >Former Presidential Candidate Is Hyped About His New Weed Business</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gary-johnson-2016-presidential-plans-2016-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-browser-magnitsky-act-how-sanctions-on-russia-hurt-putins-most-closest-allies-2018-3">BILL BROWDER: How sanctions on Russia hurt Putin's closest allies</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-politics-radical-idealism-2015-11Silicon Valley's new politics explained in six chartshttp://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-politics-radical-idealism-2015-11
Fri, 06 Nov 2015 03:01:00 -0500Greg Ferenstein
<p class="c0"><span>Over the last decade, Silicon Valley has become an extraordinary force in politics, but they've bewildered the DC establishment with their bizarre loyalties. Tech titans are the arch nemesis of labor unions on a series of fronts, </span><span class="c3"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/17/union-tech-industry-is-greedy-for-wanting-to-end-hiring-wait-period-for-immigrants/&amp;sa=D&amp;usg=AFQjCNEmfnb2l4tQo_6ug2DkuukR916fmg" class="c1">from high-skilled immigration</a></span><span>&nbsp;and the taxi industry to free trade and their aggressive funding of union-less public </span><span class="c3"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.wired.com/2015/05/altschool/&amp;sa=D&amp;usg=AFQjCNEEpElDmanTX6rddIm-brouURJaZg" class="c1">charter schools</a></span><span>.</span></p>
<p class="c0"><span>And, yet, tech CEOs are arguably the Democrats' biggest cheerleaders: </span><span class="c3"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/28/in-silicon-valley-technology-talent-gap-threatens-g-o-p-campaigns/&amp;sa=D&amp;usg=AFQjCNF44i-QIFSvIEnskk0_ItFiqJLA1Q" class="c1">in the 2012 presidential election</a></span><span>, 83% of employee donations from top tech firms went to Obama. "Most of Silicon Valley, most of the executives, tend to be Democrats," PayPal co-Founder, Peter Thiel, admitted to me.</span></p>
<p class="c0"><span><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/563bf5529dd7cc1d008c7cfa-640-971/ferenstein-chart1.png" alt="ferenstein chart1" data-mce-source="Greg Ferenstein" /></span></p>
<p class="c0"><span>To understand whether this unconventional behavior was just convenient political maneuvering or something more ideologically consistent, I conducted the first representative political psychology study of the tech industry, with the help of an exhaustive database of Silicon Valley founders called Crunchbase (which was created by TechCrunch, where I was the lead policy reporter for 2 years).</span>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="c0"><span>The results suggest that Internet startup founders represent an entirely distinct, libertarian-like ideology within the Democratic party (see </span><span class="c3"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://medium.com/@ferenstein/ff7e0d3a1a59&amp;sa=D&amp;usg=AFQjCNHPKMka8oIjp4ADzOaPdPFVG67XCw" class="c1">methods section</a></span><span>&nbsp;for survey details). Tech startup founders see the government as an investor in citizens, rather than as a protector from capitalism.</span></p>
<p class="c0"><span>Founders share all the stereotypical fervor for the free market as libertarians, but they also believe the government has a duty to actively help citizens solve global problems.</span></p>
<p class="c0"><span><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/563bf5c29dd7cc24008c7aa3-640-1130/ferenstein-chart2.png" alt="ferenstein chart2" data-mce-source="Greg Ferenstein" /></span></p>
<p class="c0"><span>Whereas American politics has traditionally assumed that free market fandom was in an exclusive relationship with libertarian individualism, tech founders are actually quite collectivist. They believe the government&nbsp;should embrace the unforgiving meritocracy of capitalism by operating like a high-tech company (which is how union-less Silicon Valley-funded charter schools often operate).</span>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="c0"><span>They also believe the government should intervene in personal decisions, encouraging citizens to be more educated, healthier, and civic.</span></p>
<p class="c0"><span><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/563bf5ec9dd7cc16008c7c75-640-801/ferenstein-chart3.png" alt="ferenstein chart3" data-mce-source="Greg Ferenstein" /></span></p>
<p class="c0"><span>Libertarian icon Rand Paul learned about the Valley's unabashed rejection of individualism during a campaign stump speech in San Francisco when he asked the crowd, "Who's a part of the leave-me-alone-coalition?" Only three people clapped. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZDN7qw6mHE">It was awkward</a>.</span></p>
<p class="c0"><span>I found that the philosophy of Silicon Valley is radical idealism. Founders describe themselves as optimists, first and foremost.</span></p>
<p class="c0"><span>&ldquo;What makes Silicon Valley special? Eternal optimism of the innovative mind&rdquo;, </span><span class="c3"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://gigaom.com/2009/12/02/what-makes-silicon-valley-special-eternal-optimism-of-the-innovative-mind/&amp;sa=D&amp;usg=AFQjCNHjUOrdoX82B5jOuf74qcHEjhvWiQ" class="c1">wrote</a></span><span>&nbsp;tech blogger, Om Malik. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m maybe the most optimistic person I know. I mean, I&rsquo;m incredibly optimistic. I&rsquo;m optimistic arguably to a fault, especially in terms of new ideas," said notable investor, Marc Andreessen.</span></p>
<p class="c0"><span>This Idealism is not rhetorical fluff; it's founded on two deep-seated assumptions about the world: change is inherently progressive and there are no conflicts between major groups in society.</span></p>
<p class="c0"><span>"I tend to believe that most Silicon Valley people are very much long-term optimists&hellip;.Could we have a bad 20 years? Absolutely. But, If you&rsquo;re working towards progress, your future will be better than your present," Linkedin founder Reid Hoffman explained to me.</span></p>
<p class="c0"><span>But it's not just about the future. This optimism also extends to present-day society. </span></p>
<p class="c0"><span>While Democrats traditionally believe in a conflict between corporations and citizens, and libertarians fear a battle between the government and citizens, founders don't recognize any conflicts between any major group in society. </span></p>
<p class="c0"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/563d0039bd86ef20008c80dc-640-777/ferenstein-policy-revised.png" alt="ferenstein policy revised" data-mce-source="Greg Ferenstein" /></p>
<p class="c0"><span></span><span>Indeed, when Elon Musk explained why he was giving away his Tesla patents, he noted:</span></p>
<p class="c0 c2" style="padding-left: 30px;">If we&rsquo;re all in a ship together and the ship has some holes in it, and we&rsquo;re sort of bailing water out of it, and we have a great design for a bucket, then even if we&rsquo;re bailing out way better than everyone else, we should probably still share the bucket design.</p>
<p class="c0"><span>This cooperative view of humanity has fascinating implications for foreign policy as well: founders are not big supporters of sovereignty. They share libertarians' love of free trade, but it's generally because they're fans of any binding alliances that require cooperation between all nations.</span></p>
<p class="c0"><span><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/563bf66fbd86ef18008c7d40-640-801/ferenstein-chart5.png" alt="ferenstein chart5" data-mce-source="Greg Ferenstein" /></span></p>
<p class="c0"><span>In quite direct terms, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales </span><span class="c3"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/jimmy_wales/status/429505544265560064&amp;sa=D&amp;usg=AFQjCNFSqaBPtyzVcmh8016f4RFKq97J_w" class="c1">tweeted</a></span><span>, "I believe in the elimination of borders and free commerce as a route to peace. Barriers necessarily imply violence."</span></p>
<p class="c0">At their absolute philosophical core, Silicon Valley's elite believe that information is a panacea. That is, nearly every problem can be solved through conversation, education, or innovation.</p>
<p class="c0">To measure faith in information, I asked two questions, "Are there any problems a great education system alone can't solve?", and "how often can military enemies solve their dispute through dialogue alone?"</p>
<p class="c0"><span>With near unanimity, founders believe that education can solve all or most problems (from violence to political partisanship) and soundly reject the notion that military enemies can't talk out their differences.</span></p>
<p class="c0"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/563d0085bd86ef18008c80e9-640-777/ferenstein-infotopians-revised.png" alt="ferenstein infotopians revised" data-mce-source="Greg Ferenstein" /></p>
<p class="c0"><span>To be sure, while founders' ideology is novel in American politics, it does have a few analogues. In modern politics, it's close to what Political Scientists refer to as "</span><span class="c3"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communitarianism&amp;sa=D&amp;usg=AFQjCNHZIj_W58H10seb4BEA6xjN8XyFBw" class="c1">communitarianism</a>,</span><span>" the belief that communities are often better at solving social ills than government agencies.</span></p>
<p class="c0"><span>This jibes with the sharing economy's obsession with replacing public transit with Uber-like carpooling or easing the housing crisis through Airbnb rentals. Google Chairman Eric Schmidt refers to this as the "religion" of the tech industry.</span></p>
<p class="c0"><span><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/563bf6d0bd86effb5b8bcad7-1024-555/schmidt-quote.png" alt="schmidt quote" data-mce-source="Greg Ferenstein" /></span></p>
<p class="c0"><span>Historically, these beliefs are more akin to the European Renaissance "</span><span class="c3"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment&amp;sa=D&amp;usg=AFQjCNFsiC2MHgNJ724gHGrFQc6N22ja2g" class="c1">Enlightenment Era</a>,</span><span>" where a faith in information was actually a recognizable ideology. After the French Revolution, the victors smashed churches and erected monuments to Reason (capital "R").</span></p>
<p class="c0"><span>For centuries, extreme optimism in the wisdom of the crowds has lied dormant. But, it appears that the knowledge economy is giving this old idealism new life. It is quite literally the basis of many billion-dollar industries.</span></p>
<p class="c0"><span>As Facebook founding President Sean Parker explained to me, "</span><span>It&rsquo;s the hacker ethic that a lot of problems in the world are information inefficiencies."</span></p>
<p class="c0"><span>Future chapters in this series will explore why Silicon Valley has chosen the Democratic party as a vessel to attain their goals and how the profitability of the knowledge economy is making this new ideology quite powerful.</span>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="c0"><span>Regardless of how powerful Silicon Valley actually becomes, innovation, itself, is becoming a distinct ideological category within American politics. It's not just about tech issues like immigration and broadband access, but how all of America's institutions can be reshaped in Silicon Valley's image.</span>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="c0"><em>*<span class="c4">For a more detailed Q&amp;A about the survey, click </span><span class="c3 c4"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://medium.com/@ferenstein/d37ed96a9251&amp;sa=D&amp;usg=AFQjCNFrv6W4SRsHxaTd1MXihBNaMlF4Nw" class="c1">here</a></span><span class="c4">&nbsp;and for a list of chapters in the entire series, click </span><span class="c3 c4"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://medium.com/@ferenstein/1f395785f3c1&amp;sa=D&amp;usg=AFQjCNFiOjdUX-kg-8gE4VyANV54FvVWYA" class="c1">here</a></span><span class="c4">. And, follow the </span><span class="c3 c4"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tinyletter.com/ferensteinwire&amp;sa=D&amp;usg=AFQjCNHLVdJlUE6fU_cqsE7cWAuUL_Q4Tw" class="c1">Ferenstein Wire newsletter</a></span><span class="c4">&nbsp;for more stories.</span></em></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/inside-airbnbs-playbook-for-taking-over-every-city-2015-11" >Airbnb's playbook for taking over every city</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-politics-radical-idealism-2015-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/politics-election-president-bernie-sanders-ben-carson-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-elected-2015-10">POWER RANKINGS: Who has the best chance of becoming the next president</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/libertarians-liberland-power-politics-2015-7Wannabe libertarian homesteaders in Europe are learning about power politics the hard wayhttp://www.businessinsider.com/libertarians-liberland-power-politics-2015-7
Tue, 21 Jul 2015 14:49:49 -0400Shane Ferro
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/55ae8f16371d2211008b84c5-1417-1063/lion roaring.jpg" alt="lion roaring" data-mce-source="Flickr/Eric Kilby" /></p><p>There&rsquo;s a new European micronation in the works, and it&rsquo;s going to be a libertarian paradise &mdash; that is, if any of the tiny nation&rsquo;s new citizens can ever get in.</p>
<p>Back in April, Czech politician Vit Jedlicka, along with two other libertarians, started an independent micronation that will be <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-21/inside-liberland-the-place-of-no-taxes-where-crowdfunding-rules">run according to their libertarian values</a>. There&rsquo;s a small patch of land between Serbia and Croatia, which neither seems to have legally claimed after the splitting of the former Yugoslavia. The people of Liberland would like to be homesteaders and take it over.</p>
<p>&ldquo;All taxes will be voluntary, and the nation&rsquo;s services - such as power, healthcare and waste disposal - will be run either by private enterprises or through crowdfunding campaigns,&rdquo; Bloomberg reports. The nation will likely have 30,000-40,000 citizens.</p>
<p>The problem? They can&rsquo;t get there. &ldquo;Croatian border police are arresting anyone who sets foot in Liberland. However, this has not deterred members of the Liberland Settlers Association, which attempts to reach it on a daily basis and often clashes with local police in the process,&rdquo; according to Bloomberg. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Technically, Liberland may be a terra nullius &mdash; with no country having a good legal claim to the land &mdash;&nbsp;but practically, it belongs to the guys with bigger sticks (or guns). Liberland is locked between Croatia and Serbia. Neither seems particularly willing to let these homesteaders claim the land. Croatian police are forcibly keeping people out.</p>
<p>And that&rsquo;s it. End of discussion. Liberland founder Vit Jedlicka can talk about and claim to be president and raise money all he wants, but ultimately the homesteaders have no authority over that land, and therefore they have no power to make it theirs.</p>
<p>If they want in, they are probably going to have to bring their guns (and nobody wants that).</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-congress-needs-to-take-on-the-sharing-economy-2015-7" >One senator thinks it's time to upend the 20th-century economic model, thanks to Uber</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/libertarians-liberland-power-politics-2015-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/map-shows-how-religion-spread-around-the-world-2015-6">This animated map shows how religion spread across the world</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/meet-the-eccentric-president-of-liberland-the-worlds-newest-micronation-2015-4Meet the eccentric president of Liberland, the world's newest micronationhttp://www.businessinsider.com/meet-the-eccentric-president-of-liberland-the-worlds-newest-micronation-2015-4
Sat, 25 Apr 2015 09:11:00 -0400Ryan Gorman
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/553aac3f6bb3f7412e439046-787-590/vik-jedlicka.jpg" border="0" alt="Vik Jedlicka"></p><p>The president of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/liberland-this-newly-declared-microcountry-wants-to-become-the-worlds-foremost-tax-haven-2015-4" target="_blank">Liberland</a>, the world's newest micronation, is as much of a mystery as his country.</p>
<p><span>Vít Jedlička is a politician frustrated with the politics of his native Czech Republic. He is long on ideas, but short on how to implement them.</span></p>
<p><span> <span>Jedlička&nbsp;</span>ran several times for office in the Czech Republic, mainly on a platform of tax reform, he told Business Insider during a recent interview. He won election to a minor regional seat but set out on his own when he realized he would be unable to make any meaningful changes.</span></p>
<p><span>"P</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">ressure from high taxes and regulations [was] increasing every year," he said. "</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">It’s almost impossible to do anything about it."</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Jedlička, a member of the <span>Conservative Party of Free Citizens,</span>&nbsp;claims he was motivated to found Liberland by the many people who asked why he didn't start his own country in the mold of Hong Kong.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span><span>The only logical solution, he added, was to take over a small spit of land on the Danube River between Croatia and Serbia and create the world's foremost tax haven.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The libertarian-leaning president has also held jobs in IT, as a financial analyst, and as a professor. He ascended to the top of the Liberland heap when he was voted into office by the only two people who live in the country — his girlfriend and another friend, according to the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/24/liberland-hundreds-of-thousands-apply-to-live-in-worlds-newest-country" target="_blank">Guardian</a>.</span></p>
<p><span>Jedlička is against most forms of taxation and government assistance. He said taxes in his country would be voluntary. He insists there will be enough money even if no one pays.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">"We don’t really care that much, because the government will have very little expenditure," he boasted. "</span><span>We will have so much money that we will not know how to spend it."</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span>Government will exist only to provide law and order and to defend the country's borders,&nbsp;<span>Jedlička explained.</span></span></p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/553aaa6869bedd4b2a439047-1200-800/11130448_378374029017276_3781231148980889080_o.jpg" border="0" alt="Vít Jedlička"></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The staunch conservative does not believe in a single currency but talked of a stock market already being in the planning stages.&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Trading on the market, should it ever be fully realized, would likely have to take place in one currency.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">He admitted to not fully figuring out how utilities and infrastructure would be administered but expressed hope that roads, sidewalks, electricity, and more would be handled by private industry.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">It is possible to be done that way," he insisted.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Jedlička speaks with the energy and conviction of a younger Barack Obama but appears to be as organized as Rick Perry was during that infamous&nbsp;<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/11/rick-perrys-debate-lapse-oops-cant-remember-department-of-energy/" target="_blank">2011 presidential debate</a>.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span>Liberland sits on only 2.7 square miles but he could not provide a firm answer when asked how many people he thinks could live within the country.</span></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">&nbsp;"I don’t think there is any reasonable limit — it depends on how much money there is," said&nbsp;<span>Jedlička.</span></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Manhattan, the most densely populated area in the United States, has nearly 67,000 people per square mile, according to <a href="http://www.census.gov/census2000/states/ny.html" target="_blank">census data</a>. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">With only about two square miles of land, the rest is in the Danube River, the population would be capped at around 120,000 — if Liberland were jammed with skyscrapers.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">There currently is only one building — it resembles a barn.</span></p>
<p class="p1">These issues aside,&nbsp;<span>Jedlička admitted that neither Serbia nor Croatia have responded to letters sent declaring the country's independence.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">"Right now, we send them notes and we are waiting for their reply."</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">He also admitted that either country could eventually lay claim to the land should Liberland somehow become successful.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span>Jedlička is not short on ideas or people wanting to be citizens — more than 260,000 to date, he claims — but he has a long road ahead of him before Liberland becomes the next Hong Kong.</span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/meet-the-eccentric-president-of-liberland-the-worlds-newest-micronation-2015-4#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/africans-migrating-to-hungary-for-eu-papers-asylum-2015-4">African migrants are using an asylum loophole in Hungary to get EU papers</a></p>